In order to ensure Europe’s global connectivity, and to keep abreast of global higher education development trends, EUA is in continued dialogue with partners outside of Europe. The Association has consistently pushed for a global dimension of European higher education by building a joint European approach for international collaboration, supporting institutional internationalisation and promoting European higher education to its global partners.
European universities have a wide range of international contacts and academic collaborations with partner institutions around the world. With the consolidation of the European Higher Education Area came the realisation that Europe is increasingly attractive globally, both as a study destination and as a partner for exchange. In parallel, the global race for talent has accelerated, and European universities have increasingly focused on positioning their education and research offer internationally.
Internationalisation is a strategic goal of European governments and universities, with priority placed on student and staff mobility, cross-border partnerships and learning and teaching approaches. EUA supports the institutional development of internationalisation through a variety of projects and memberships services. It is also actively engaged in global policy dialogues and collaboration between Europe and other world regions, including the EU Neighbourhood. EUA laid down its own approach in 2006 in its International Agenda – which may have been the first ever European-level higher education strategy. While since then a lot of progress has been made in internationalisation, and the overall context has changed, the principles of the International Agenda continue to guide EUA’s exchange and collaboration with international partners.
EUA keeps links with the Association of African Universities (AAU) with whom it endorsed a joint Statement on Europe-Africa higher education cooperation, outlining the commitments of the two organisations. It has also been following the Africa-EU Strategic Partnership.
Together with AAU and other partners, EUA mapped the various ways in which universities are contributing to the development agenda, and issued a White Paper: Africa-Europe Higher Education Cooperation for Development , with several principles for European universities engaging with partners in emerging economies, in Africa and beyond. Since then EUA and AAU continued their partnership under the EU-funded HAQAA initiative, mainly meant to develop a pan-African Quality Assurance and Accreditation System (2016-2018).
EUA is also involved as a partner in the Yebo! project, which focuses on further developing the internationalisation of doctoral education in South African universities.
EUA maintains relations with both the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Universities Canada.
Since 1989, the three associations have gathered higher education institutional leaders (presidents, rectors and chancellors) from Europe, Canada and the United States for a Transatlantic Dialogue, to discuss and share perspectives on current higher education issues and policy developments.
In Latin America, EUA has participated in a number of initiatives aimed at higher education integration, harmonisation and enhanced cooperation and exchange. EUA started a dialogue with the Consejo Universitario Iberoamericano (CUIB) in 2004, to work towards the creation of an integrated higher education and research area between EU and the Latin American and Caribbean countries (LAC region). Over the years, EUA has also collaborated on projects with a number of organisations such as the Observatorio de las Relaciones Union Europea America Latina (OBREAL) and LAC university associations.
EUA also follows the process between the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), in which higher education, research, technology and innovation have been assigned priority. In 2017, it became the main European partner in a related stakeholder process, in close collaboration with LAC partner organisations and the EU-LAC Foundation.
The Arab-Euro Conference on Higher Education (AECHE) is a joint initiative of the Association of Arab Universities (AARU) and EUA, supported by members and partners to promote dialogue, mutual understanding, and increased cooperation between Arab and European universities.
Launched in 2013 at the University of Barcelona, AECHE organises thematic conferences and promotes policy exchange between the two regions. In 2017, the Mohammed V University in Morocco hosted the 4th AECHE Conference, which focused on research collaboration and capacity building among Arab and European universities.
To generate dialogue and sustainable relations between Asian and European institutions, EUA has taken up several initiatives with Asian partners. From 2008-2009, EUA led a European Commission funded project “EU-Asia Higher Education Platform” (EAHEP) organising thematic workshops, roundtables, symposia and European higher education fairs across Asia and Europe. More recently, EUA partnered in an initiative “European Union Support to Higher Education in the Asean Region”. (2015-2018).
Furthermore, EUA has been active in the ASEM Education Process, and has contributed to the Asia-Europe Foundation’s Rectors’ conferences, together with other university associations.
In addition, EUA has been an active stakeholder in the EU-China dialogue for many years, among others under the EU-China Higher level People-to-People Dialogue (HPPD).
EUA has a large membership far beyond the EU, including 122 institutions in EU Neighbourhood and accession countries, as well as 32 institutions in Russia and Kazakhstan. These higher education institutions participate in EUA events and projects and contribute to the community of European universities.
Higher education and research play a key role in fostering cooperation between the European Union
and its neighbours. Universities build bridges across political, cultural and economic borders through student and staff mobility, research collaborations, and through studying and teaching foreign cultures. The Association works towards improving higher education in the whole region, using the advantage of its diversity with a common purpose.
EUA monitors the international trade agreements that the European Commission negotiates with third country partners and regions. While such agreements do not necessarily include higher education, neither do they automatically exclude it.
Article 1.3 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) excludes “any services supplied in the exercise of governmental authority [and supplied] neither on a commercial basis nor in competition with one or more service suppliers”.
How such services are defined is nevertheless open to interpretation. As higher education institutions explore diverse funding streams, the distinctions between public, private, not-for-profit and for-profit are increasingly unclear.
EUA, the American Council of Education (ACE), Universities Canada and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) issued a Joint Declaration on Higher Education and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) in 2001. In 2015, the EUA Board declared that higher education benefits individuals, society and the world at large in ways that are not easily quantifiable. It is a public responsibility to which all citizens have right of access and not a commodity to be transacted by commercial interests on a for-profit basis. It should not be subject to international trade regimes.
EUA Strategic Plan
The need for strong universities has never been greater in addressing societal challenges. The Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, resource scarcity, ageing populations, migration and managing artificial intelligence are among the many examples of areas where universities have a major impact.
The European Commission’s new proposal for the next seven-year budget of the European Union together with the Next Generation EU recovery plan falls short of much needed investment in research, innovation and education.
The Refugee Education Initiatives 2 (REIs 2) consortium organises the online workshop “Recognising Learning and Promoting Inclusion: conversations on access to university in Europe for refugees and displaced people” on 30 October. The workshop is part of the EU-funded REIS2 project and it is...
view moreEUA partner Scholars at Risk (SAR) organises “Free to Think 2020: Responding to Attacks on Higher Education” on 19 – 20 November 2020. The virtual conference marks SAR’s 20th anniversary and the release of the SAR's annual monitoring report, Free to Think 2020. The event will also feature the...
view moreCoventry University’s Centre for Global Learning: Education and Attainment (GLEA) organises the online conference “Reconstructing education through a global lens” on 2 – 6 November 2020. The weeklong online event will showcase, discuss and share ideas on important issues related to...
view moreCoventry University's Centre for Global Learning: Education and Attainment organise the virtual conference “Reconstructing education through a global lens” from 2 to 6 November 2020. This week-long series of online events will showcase, discuss and share ideas on important issues related to...
view moreUniversities have a strategic interest in trade in higher education services and this policy...
read moreOn 9 July, the European Commission announced the selection results of the second pilot call under the European Universities Initiative. Out of 62 applications, 24 new university alliances were chosen with a total of 165 participating higher education institutions from 26 countries. 122 of those...
view moreEUA has published the position “The future of the European Universities Initiative – the sector’s perspective” together with the results of the recent EUA survey on international strategic institutional partnerships and the European Universities Initiative. Endorsed by the EUA Council, the...
view moreIn early 2020, EUA conducted a survey on international strategic institutional partnerships and...
read moreEUA partner Scholars at Risk (SAR) released the report Free to Think 2019 analysing 324 attacks on higher education communities in 56 countries between 1 September 2018 and 31 August 2019. The report draws on data from SAR’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project to identify trends related to...
view moreThe sixth edition of the International Turkic World Tourism Symposium will take place on 9-11...
view moreThe UNESCO General Conference has adopted the Global Convention on the Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications, or Global Recognition Convention, as it is more commonly referred to. This document constitutes a culmination of decades of efforts of streamlining recognition practices across...
view moreOn 7 November the first 17 alliances of the European Universities Initiative were launched in Brussels in the presence of some 800 representatives of universities, university associations, student, national ministries and the European Commission. EUA President Michael Murphy addressed the...
view moreHUMANE, the Heads of University Management & Administration Network in Europe, together with partner EFMD, the European Foundation for Management Development, will organise the Shanghai Transnational Partnerships School from 17 to 22 November. Developed in collaboration with the Shanghai...
view moreThe International Association of Universities (IAU) recently held its annual conference in Kuala Lumpur with a focus on partnerships for societal impact. Some 300 delegates were present from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe and from Brazil to Uganda. The European contingent notably included a strong...
view moreThis essay is the result of the 15th Transatlantic Dialogue held in July 2018. The seminar,...
read moreThe EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement was the first of a new generation of free trade agreements....
read moreThe EU hopes to conclude a series of trade deals in the near future. Its new agreement with...
read moreOn 1-4 July about 30 university presidents from Canada, Europe and the United States convened at the European University Institute (EUI) in Fiesole, Florence, for the 15th Transatlantic Dialogue. This event addressed the timely theme “Higher education and its communities: openness, democracy and...
view moreThis briefing includes the latest information on the progress of the agreement and reviews...
read moreThe American Council on Education (ACE) has launched a global exchange on how to improve outcomes for underserved students through research, policy and the dissemination of good practices. On 2-4 February 2018, ACE invited higher education, policy and business leaders to participate in...
view moreEUA, as the stakeholder organisation representing European universities, participated to the 6th...
view moreOn 18 October, EUA and EARMA, the European Association of Research Managers and Administrators, co-organised a seminar entitled “Higher education cooperation for development and Sustainable Development Goals: Meeting global and regional challenges”. The seminar was hosted by MEP Bogdan Wenta at...
view moreConfinement due to the coronavirus is a great challenge for the international mobility of...
read moreRefugees bring with them skills, qualifications and experience – including in the medical field....
read moreInternationalisation of the learning experience within higher education is becoming progressively...
read moreHow can higher education institutions model open, democratic and engaged communities? How can they...
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